Neighbor Girls

Tam, Ange, Jill, Sini, Linds and our kids.



Tam, Ange, Steph and Sini


I was lucky enough meet up with the friends I grew up with twice this week! The first was because my friend, Jill, who I grew up next door to and now lives in Ephraim was up for a day, so we went to lunch. The next was because my friend Steph, who grew up in the same neighborhood and now lives in Omaha was in town on business. My friends, Tam and Ange live nearby, so we all showed up of course. It's so great to catch up with these girls! I always think it's amazing that we can just start where we left off the last time we saw each other. We laugh like crazy too- I love it! I really have learned so much from them and they influence me still. I think it's so easy to be with them because they know who I am....I don't really have to pretend to be sophisticated and cool- because they know I'm not!! I wanted to write one of my favorite memories of each from when we were kids (thanks to Emily for the inspiration!)...............

Jill- It's kind of hard to narrow it down since she lived next door and we spent sooo much time together! She was always there as long as I can remember! She was this little tiny girly-girl and I was the exact opposite, tall and not really a tomboy, but not really girly either. Needless to say we were a funny little pair. She was the one who always had a new hairdo- once she came to school with her bangs slicked back and bobby pinned and told everyone she was growing her bangs out, only to have them back to normal the next day. One time she came over with one fake fingernail on and kept putting her finger on her cheek or her lips while she was talking so we would notice it. (So funny that I remember that!) She always had the cutest matching outfits. I remember she always got a whole new wardrobe of summer clothes!! (Jealous!) She was the leader of our playtime- always in charge of what characters we were acting like and what we were supposed to say. (Somehow I turned out either being "the boy" or if there were more than two of us "the watcher" and she was usually the girl. I remember roller skating and pretending we were working at a drive in or pretending to be police and writing tickets to each other. We rode our bikes all the time- mine an orange banana seat purchased from a neighbor's yard sale- especially in the summer when we would go out all day and didn't have to be back until dinner. This is so, so funny- but Jill is the one who told me it was time to start wearing a bra! (Which I am totally grateful for- I could still be braless to this day!) I remember when we would play and her dad would walk by and say, "Jill- Love you." Since my family wasn't huge on expressing the "L" word, I always thought that was so cool, so I do that with my kids now. Funny how little things stick with you forever.


Jill, me and Jenny (Jill's little sis) ready for kindergarten orientation. (1984)

Ange- We always used to have most of the sleepovers at her house. We would stay up so late and in the middle of the night would get really hungry so we would sneak to the kitchen and get some bread to eat. Then in the morning her little bro would be jumping and running upstairs and wake us up so early. Her mom always made us pancakes in the morning. We would practice our spelling words together and she would spell them so fast, I couldn't even keep up- and she was always a good speller. I remember the bedroom she shared with her little sis with all of her little knickknacks from Switzerland and other places- I think her dad went on business trips or something. Once I remember her licking a full size candy bar, not taking even one bite, so she could make it last a few days. I remember riding to Bear Lake with her family in the suburban, listening to Depeche Mode the whole way. We would watch "Thriller" over and over in her basement. The first time I ever came in contact with a computer was in her dad's little office downstairs. We would play Olympics with little stick figures in black and white on a little apple computer. I still remember the smell of her basement! When I was 14 I worked for her parents for a bit in their scripture tabbing business and her dad taught me how to balance a checkbook and how to write credit card purchases right in the register, so it wouldn't be a surprise when the bill came.

Ange and I in our matching unicorn shirts. (Jill had one too.) I loved that shirt!! (1984)

Steph- She was such a funny girl. She always had a book and would read through them in a day or two. I remember sleeping over at her house and the heater going all night (I was used to our freezing house) and me sweating while Jose the dog slept on my legs. I couldn't move all night. She collected Bazooka Joe comics and hung them on her closet door. I remember making best friend things with pink and purple puff paints- I can't remember if they were shirts or pillowcases?? She had a huge backyard with a pulley from the playhouse to the big tree. I remember making up dances in her backyard. She also got to go to the New Kids on the Block concert with her cousin, and we were all really jealous! I remember going to her house and having to wait while she swept her huge tile kitchen floor. She got to come to CA with me and Linds to stay with our sister Lisa. We had so much fun and went to Disneyland (my first time when I was 14!) Her mom was the one who treated us like little adults- it seemed so cool. Her dad was this sweet, southern guy, always so proper, and always took the time to say, "Hi."

Steph and I in CA by John Travolta's sidewalk square. (1994)

Tam- My first memory is when she would come over 1 or 2 times a week while her mom ran errands or something. She would come in hugging and hiding behind her mom's leg. (This happened every single time!) Finally she would warm up and share one of the bags of cheese puffs she always brought. She always had a huge bed and her room was never messy. It was always decorated cute too- even when she was little! (She's such a good decorator still!) I remember her crazy dogs in the backyard, one named Benson. She had a basketball hoop too, and we would always play H.O.R.S.E. She always had turtles walking around her back garden too.....I think. She was totally into fashion- even when she was so little, of course her favorite being Guess and Esprit for a while. Tam and I also decided to collect tags.....from clothes!! (You know the kind that say the price that you rip off after you buy them?) We would go to the mall and take tags that we thought were cool.......why didn't we think anything was wrong with that?? Her mom was the funny one, who would always have silly ideas and laugh and joke with us and was always making yummy Chilean food.

Tam and I with our cheese puffs. (1983?)

It is so funny to see us all as adults, because we knew what we were like when we were so little. It's really surreal looking at their kids, because they are little mini me's of them. I'm glad we keep in touch the way we do. Since none of them have a blog yet (believe me I have tried to convince them!!) I'm posting these pics to share.